


Evasion

by Shigure_Natsu



Series: Post-canon Captive Prince [3]
Category: Captive Prince - C. S. Pacat
Genre: Action & Romance, Action/Adventure, But he's furious & ready to kick Damen's ass, Eloping, Fluff, Idiots in Love, M/M, Nik isn't physically in here, Post-Canon, Post-Kings Rising, with a hint of violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-18
Updated: 2017-07-18
Packaged: 2018-12-03 20:22:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,965
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11539758
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shigure_Natsu/pseuds/Shigure_Natsu
Summary: Damen and Laurent run off right after their wedding in Marlas, wanting some alone time together. They run into a group of thieves on the way. Trouble ensues.





	Evasion

**Author's Note:**

> This is part of the [Captive Prince Anthology](https://capri-anthology.tumblr.com/), a fan project uniting authors/beta readers/artists, for charity!  
> It's a continuation to both "Confessions" and "Reunion", but can also be read as a one shot, so enjoy~
> 
> My infinite gratitude to my beta [Kaye](http://sendasalami.tumblr.com/) and to [Ted](http://mirabel-chan.tumblr.com/) for the amazing art! I couldn't have done this without the both of you <3

The sound of hooves against the soil. Of puffs of breath beating the rhythm of a gallop, weaving between the forest trees. Laughter in the wind, as Laurent looked back to see Damen catching up to him, smiling. They slowed down to a canter, and then to a walk, side by side and eyes still glinting with mischief. 

“I can’t believe you made me do this,” Damen said, the fondness in his voice not quite hidden.

“I seem to remember you agreeing to this. I didn’t tie you to your horse, did I?” 

Laurent pushed his grey mare to the side until his boots brushed against Damen’s sandaled feet, as his husband shook his head with a snort. 

“We might have given Nikandros a heart attack.”

“We might have,” Laurent hummed appreciatively.

They had run off right before dawn, leaving their room as discreetly as possible, saddling their horses by candlelight, fleeing Marlas still under the cover of the night, until they crossed the nearest tree line, plunging into the forest. Now the sun had risen, and it shone through the branches and right onto Laurent’s golden hair, and Damen couldn’t look away, his breath caught in his throat.

His husband. The word was ringing again and again in his head, but he still couldn’t quite fathom the trueness of it, not even as a golden ring had joined the golden cuff. 

The people in the castle had probably stirred awake a few hours ago, and someone might already have trespassed into their room to find them nowhere in sight. Both Nikandros and Jord would join forces, panicked, to find their kings, and Nicaise would just snicker in the corner, already well aware of what happened. Damen could see it perfectly. 

Damen had no doubt they would be found, eventually. After all, the two kings of the most powerful countries of the region, running off without an escort to who knew where, was dangerous enough for entire garrisons to be sent out. They just had to make good on the time they had remaining, far from both their courts, now joined as one. Far from their friends, too. Just the two of them, free, for a few days. 

They stopped by a stream at midday, to refresh the horses and eat some of the dried meat and bread they had taken. Laurent sat by the water with his boots lying in the grass behind him, his feet plunged in the river, eyes closed. Damen settled down beside him, a soft smile on his lips. He laced his fingers with his husband’s, softly, quietly. Laurent huffed a quiet breath, his smile spreading, but he didn’t open his eyes. He just let his shoulders drop even more, and settled against Damen’s torso. 

“That was a bit inconsiderate, wasn’t it?”

As a response, Laurent first groaned. “We’re just having a special honeymoon, is all,” he finally muttered. 

Damen snickered. “As long as we don’t run into trouble.” He kissed Laurent’s hair, squeezing his hand.

“Now, husband, where has your adventurous streak disappeared to? After all, what’s life without a little risk?”

Chuckling, Damen took Laurent by the shoulders, and turned him until they were facing each other, cold blue eyes staring into honey brown ones. “Who are you, and what have you down to the King Laurent of Vere?”

“Shut up, idiot,” Laurent huffed, but his smile betrayed his emotions. 

“I’m serious, though. That wasn’t the most reasonable thing we could have done. We barely know where we are. It might not be safe.”

Laurent shook his head. “It’ll be alright. After all, I have my barbarian husband to protect me.” At that, he took Damen’s face between his hands, and kissed him softly.

They rode through the afternoon at a slow pace, exchanging idle stories. Smiling and laughing and living. By night come, they were both exhausted, and their cheeks hurt. They settled down in a clearing, Damen gathering branches for the fire as Laurent took care of the horses. They felt so tired they fell asleep right after eating, intertwined under the stars.

*

Damen was jolted awake by a clanking sound not far away. He barely had time to rise before he felt the sting of a blade against his throat, ready to kill. He froze. From the corner of his eyes, he noticed someone else pushing Laurent around until he woke up, at first groggy with sleep, then a sharp string of tension as he took in his surroundings. Laurent opened his mouth. Closed it, once his gaze met Damen’s. They stayed there, as someone bound their hands and lit up the remaining embers of the decaying fire.

Once they could see clearly, Damen considered the man in front of him, wide shoulders and crooked jaw, as he peered down at them with a sneer. His first reflex was to count down how many assailants there were. He found five, but maybe there were more nearby. Bandits, he thought as two of them searched their bags, only to find food. Laurent’s rapier and his own short sword had already been cast aside, out of their reach. 

One of the thieves, the man with the crooked jaw, came forward, and all the others stopped what they were doing, gathering around him. He took another look at Laurent and Damen, his sneer still plastered on. Grabbed Damen’s hair, pulling his head back until it was painful.

“It’s a pity slavery has been abolished. You two might have fetched a high price.” His voice was a low rumble that made Damen grit his teeth. “Him as a whore,” the man kept on, turning Damen’s head so he could look at his husband, “and you… probably heavy work.”

“Do you even realize who you’re talking to?” Damen’s voice was venomous. The man chuckled.

“Enlighten me.”

“We are…” Laurent shot him a dark look, and Damen immediately quieted.

“You are…?” one of the other thieves kept on, curious.

“This is Lamen,” Laurent said, still emanating his usual confidence as he was tied up and on his knees, peering over the rag-tag group with disdain Damen knew he used to conceal his fear. “He’s my assistant. And I’m Charls”.

“And what are you two doing out here alone, Lamen and Charls?” 

Damen sensed the leader wasn’t convinced, and he held a wince in. 

“We are travelling to meet up with my cousin. You may actually know him. His name is also Charls.”

Round eyes and doubtful faces. Then, a question. “Your cousin is also named Charls?”

“Yes,” Laurent replied with a smirk. “But he is a renowned clothes merchant, and I’m just the family disappointment. No one talks about me.”

Damen had to stop himself from laughing. No matter how anxious he felt, he couldn’t deny this story still made him smile to this day, and the confidence Laurent exuded telling it made it even better. 

The man in front of them, however, just shrugged. “Well, if you are from a merchant family, you must have some coins on you, right?”

Damen saw Laurent visibly tense, his mind already running after an answer. 

“Search them,” the leader deadpanned, before the King of Vere had the time to even utter a single word.

One lanky man set towards Damen, as another felt Laurent up. The sound of metal clinging told Damen they had found Laurent’s purse, and were counting what it held. They were about done when a hand grazed Damen’s wrist, stopped, and clasped it tighter. 

“What…” Drawing back the linen, the man exposed the cuff, its gold glinting menacingly in the fire, as the leader looked them both over, surprised. Then a grin spread over his face, and he approached Damen once again, a hand under his chin, looking at him right in the eye.

“What do we have here. The Kings of Vere and Akielos, lost alone in the woods. You might be more useful than we first thought.” He turned to his men. “Don’t hurt them, but keep a close eye on them. We won’t get a ransom if they run away.”

One person tied them both to a tree, back to back, the trunk so thick they couldn’t reach each other’s hands, no matter how much they tried. Laurent kept quiet, for the most part, which set Damen even more on edge.

The sun rose slowly. They remained prisoners of the bandits, simply waiting to know what would happen to them. Damen felt his blood boil every time one of them went by—some with a smirk, others with their head turned to the side, but someone always keeping watch. He tried his best to come up with a plan, any plan, but the longer Laurent’s silence stretched, the more he felt himself grow uneasy and unsure. 

A groan. Damen cocked his head, managing to look at his husband from the corner of his eye. Laurent’s head hanged low, and worry instantly flashed through Damen’s heart. “Laurent, are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” The sound was muffled, and Damen had to strain to hear what he said. He made sure no one was paying attention, as Laurent kept on. “I guess we’re just going to have to fight our way out of this.” His voice was threaded with an underlining of joy that Damen was surprised to hear. When he turned his head once more, he saw a smug smile tugging at Laurent’s lips, one that both unsettled him and elicited a smile of his own. Fighting, he could do.

But there was still the problem of being tied to a tree, with their weapons nowhere in reach. 

The quickly put together camp was shuffling around them, men and women rising from short naps to organize themselves in quiet hums and low voices. There were no more than ten of them now, that was sure. One had started cooking, the smell wafting to the tree and making Damen’s mouth water. He was tired, and hungry, and thirsty, and though this group didn’t seem too skilled in combat, Damen was for a moment unsure they could take them on and win, in their state. 

He crushed these thoughts when the lanky man from earlier approached with a gourd in hand, tension filling Damen’s body as he swept his gaze on the figure of the man. He noticed a blade, barely hidden at his belt, and his heart started hammering.

The man raised an eyebrow as if in silent challenge when he saw Damen eyeing him, but he still tilted the gourd until Damen could drink from it. He gulped the water down greedily, stopping when he had his fill and watching the man shift closer to Laurent to do the same. When Laurent was done, the bandit turned around, ready to go back to camp. This was their chance. With one last settling breath, Damen sprung into action. 

Letting himself slump against the bark of the tree, he extended his leg in one swift motion. The man fell towards him. Damen kicked him in the stomach. The man bent in half, grimacing. Damen managed to stretch his arm far enough to grab the knife, and, with a small victory cry, still holding the man as far away as he could with his boots, he cut the rope holding them. 

Laurent was the first to rise, turning around and assessing the situation. With one last kick, Damen knocked out their unwilling savior. His cries for help, however, had alerted the rest of the group to their escape, and they were already closing in on Damen and Laurent, weapons in hand. 

Damen punched the first person that came close in the jaw. Kneed the second one in the ribs. He saw Laurent duck from the corner of his eye, and he turned, worried, but another person was already on him and he barely had time to block and counterattack. He would just have to trust his husband knew what he was doing. 

A blade cut through the skin of his thigh, and Damen hissed. It wasn’t a deep wound, but it stung. It was merely meant to incapacitate him, not kill him, and Damen smirked. He dove as the weapon swung into his direction again. Rose in the back of his attacker, and planted the small knife he still held in their back, satisfied by the groan they emitted as they fell. They weren’t dead, but a puddle of blood was slowly spreading in the grass. Damen took their sabre. Or at least he meant to, when another blade was thrust upon him.

He raised his gaze to meet Laurent’s, a quick smile and nod before he turned back to face his own opponent, leaving the short sword in Damen’s hand. Damen unsheathed it, comforted by the familiar feel of the pommel under his palm.

He swung at one woman that tried to creep up behind Laurent’s back, pushing her away until both kings were back to back, protecting each other against the four remaining assailants. Damen heard Laurent laugh. “This feels like old times, doesn’t it, lover.”

Damen huffed a breath as he fended off another opponent with swift moves, the clanging of metal against metal a melody he had missed, blood thrumming in his veins with a fierce sort of joy. 

He turned as he heard footsteps on his left, and saw the chief going for Laurent, axe in hand and eyes murderous. Damen grabbed Laurent’s arm. He turned them around, taking the opportunity to steal a quick kiss from Laurent, smiling at his surprise before turning to face the man he couldn’t wait to rough up. 

The swing of the axe took him by surprise. Air brushed his cheek as the blade cut through, right where he stood a mere second before. Damen regained his footing and turned to counter another blow, the man glaring at him. His muscles were straining, and Damen was suddenly very thankful he was the one fighting this brute, and not Laurent. As skilled as Laurent was, this man relied on strength alone, and he would have shattered Laurent’s fine sword in no time. 

Laurent, who was nowhere in sight, Damen took notice as he pushed his enemy away once again. The others were all on the floor, knocked out or nursing a cut or two. He took a second to make sure he didn’t see any pale blond hair amongst the bodies, then focused back on his fight.

His opponent was turning his axe in his hand in a show probably meant to impress Damen, but which only made him raise a brow. Damen was getting ready for another pass, steady on his feet and his heart quietly thrumming with content, when he heard the clatter of hooves approaching. 

And there Laurent was, sitting on his grey mare, the reins to Damen’s own horse in hand. Other horses swarmed in the clearing with huffs and puffs, galloping past them and getting lost in the forest. Damen ran.

He jumped into his saddle, took one last look at the band of thieves from which only the leader remained standing, and kicked his horse into a gallop, Laurent at his side as they reached the path back to Marlas.

Once they were far enough from the clearing, Laurent burst out laughing, his voice ringing with the wind through the forest trees. Damen turned to him, surprised but smiling at his husband’s joyous face. 

“What has you feeling so happy? We just barely escaped death, you know,” Damen teased as Laurent finally settled back.

“This is the most fun I’ve had in a while.”

“We got married only a couple days ago!” Damen said, mock offended.

“I know,” Laurent hummed, and his eyes were soft as he looked at Damen, private smile spreading on his features. “And the wedding made me happy, tremendously so. But it wasn’t fun, exactly.”

“And brawling in the woods with a band of thieves is. I see how it is.”

“Now, Damianos, were you worried about me?”

It was meant to be a joke, but Damen’s chest constricted at the idea that, had they not been faced with such amateurs, they might not have made it out in one piece. The mere thought of Laurent getting hurt made him want to punch something, or someone, but he just clenched his fists and said nothing. 

Laurent must have felt the change in behavior. He slowed his mare and moved closer to Damen, taking his hand and holding it until finally, Damen looked him in the eye again.

“I was worried, too,” he admitted, voice gentle as the breeze through the leaves. “But, as I told you before, I knew my husband would be there to protect me.”

And there it was again: the private smile, the one Damen knew to be only directed at him, Laurent’s lips crooking a bit to the side, his eyelashes grazing his cheeks as he blinked and lowered his head, a rosy glow creeping on his face. 

Damen pushed his own horse even closer to Laurent’s, until their feet brushed together. Slowly, he took his husband’s chin into his hand, caressed his cheek. Placed a kiss on his lips. 

  
  


“So, are we heading back?” Damen asked, after a moment of silence, his hand linked with Laurent.

“As much as I can’t wait to see Nikandros’s face when we get back, I think we haven’t enjoyed our honeymoon as much as we could, don’t you, husband?”

Damen gave a full laugh at that, his eyes closing and head thrown back, and he squeezed Laurent’s hand before releasing it. He pushed his horse into a gallop. Behind him, Damen heard his husband’s own laugh, clear as the sky and melodious as a bird song, as he gave chase.

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on Tumblr [here](http://kiseopingu.tumblr.com/).
> 
> I thrive on comments, so don't hesitate to scream at me about your thoughts and feelings!
> 
> (You can find the art on tumblr [here](http://drchristineputnam.tumblr.com/post/164640946053/i-forgot-to-post-the-full-art-this-was-done-for))
> 
> PS: I'm planning on writing about the wedding, and especially the wedding night, so stay tuned ;)


End file.
